List finders



March 19, 1957 p LANNERT 2,785,489

LIST FINDERS Filed May 20, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 19, 1957 P. LANNERT LIST FINDERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 20, 1955 INVENTOR.

United States Patent LIST FINDERS Paul Lannert, New York, N. Y., assignor to Bessie E. Pollock, New York, N. Y.

Application May 20, 1955, Serial No. 509,788

6 Claims. (Cl. 40-104) This invention relates to a device for holding lists of addresses, telephone numbers or lists or compilations of other information, and has for one of its objects the provision of a device of this character in which a cover memher will be opened, and any selected list in a group or stack of cards will be exposed for reading when desired.

It is an object of the invention to provide means by which the cover member can be positioned at an angle to enable any card in the stack to be located in a way to facilitate the writing in of names and addresses or telephone numbers on the exposed card.

It is an object of the invention to provide in an article of this kind, a release means for the card-holding rings, and to provide a positive locking means to prevent accidental opening of the release means.

it is an object of the invention to provide a list finder of the character mentioned which will be composed of relatively few parts and may thus be inexpensively manufactored; which will be provided with a simplified and positive locking means for the cover, as well as a simple means by which the cover will be caused to be swung to its open position, and to provide an assembly of co operating elements by which the resultant article will be a practical and sturdy one.

With these objects, and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in view, I have devised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed,

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Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a list finder constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view through the base portion of the finder, with the cover in its raised position and partially shown;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the cover-releasing lever;

Fig. 5 is a view of the locking means for the binder rings;

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view of the locking means;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view, taken. substantially on the 5;}

line 7-4 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of a portion of the base, with the cover removed and certain other parts omitted to better disclose construction;

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view through the list finder, showing the same in its open position;

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view showing how the binder rings are caused to be rotated to open position for the insertion or removal of the listing cards;

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic view showing how a spring finger formed in the base limits the upward and rearward swing of the cover;

Fig. 12 is a somewhat similar view showing how the cover is limited in a further rearward direction after being freed from the spring finger shown in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a modified form of ice 2 means by which the ring-holding rod is moved to the open position of the rings, and

Fig. 14 is a front elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 13.

The stack of reference cards 19 in the device is contained in a two-part housing consisting of a base member shown at It and a cover member indicated at 2. These parts may be made of sheet metal, plastic or other suitable material. In the form shown, the base member 1 is rectangular in shape, although it may be made in any one of a number of ornamental shapes. The pivoted or hinged cover member 2 includes side walls 4 and 5, a front wall 20 and a rear wall 13. Extending between and passing through the side walls 4 and 5 near the rear end of the same is a rod 3 which constitutes the pivot member for the cover. The rod 3 is pivotally supported in lugs 15 and 16 which are stamped out of the top of the base member 1 and which project upwardly therefrom. The cover member 2 is spring-biased to open position, or to that shown in full lines in Fig. 9, by means of two torsional springs 6 and 7 (Fig. 3) extending around the pivot rod. Each of these springs has an extended end 24 bearing against the top wall 25 of the cover, and each spring has its opposite end 26 extending through a hole in the base member. Thus, the normal raised position of the cover, under the impulse of the springs 6 and 7, and when halted by a stop member in the form of a leaf spring 14, is that shown in full lines in Fig. 9.

Provided in the top 25 of the cover member 2, is an elongated slot in which the slider or card-selector is slidable. That element includes a pointer '28, exposed on the outside of the cover member and slidable to selectively designate any one of the calibrations appearing on the face of the cover member to thereby indicate the card to be exposed when the cover is swung to its raised position.

The slider includes a hook member 29 which takes under the cards according to the position of the pointer and lifts the cards when the cover is raised. Said hook includes a wall portion 30, arranged in sliding contact against the side Wall 5 of the cover member.

The cards contained in the index are of the type conventionally employed in indices of this character and are therefore not shown in detail herein. They are provided with the conventional holes adjacent to their top edges and are retained in the index by having such holes fitted on the binder rings indicated at 8 and Q. Each of these rings has its rim 32 extending for more than a half circle, and is provided with a hub 33 fixed on the rod 3 so that when said rod is manually rotated in a manner to be described, the rings will be rotated to either open or closed position as required.

The stack of cards 19 is held with its edges elevated by means of a pad 12 mounted on the face of the base member 1, thus allowing the hook portion 29 of the slider to move under and engage beneath the cards in the stack.

The manual rotation of the rings 8 and 9 to open or closed position is performed by a lever 34 formed as an integral, lateral extension of the rod 3 and located on the outside of the side wall 5 of the cover member. By manually depressing this lever 34, as shown in Fig. 10, a rotative movement of the rod 3 and rings 8 and 9 thereon, occurs to thereby bring one end of the rims 32 on each of the rings away from the cover 2 to an extent necessary to permit the cards 19 to be detached from the rings or to be placed on the rings as the case may be. When the lever 34 is moved back to its initial position, or that shown in Fig. 2, the rings will be in their locked or closed position withone end of the rim of each ring directed into the depressions 10 formed in the top 25 of the cover member to receive them. The rings are mov able in their rotative movements through openings 11 provided in the base member.

Normally, the ring-opening lever 34 is held against inadvertent movement to thereby prevent the displacement or slippage of the cards from the rings. This looking efiect is secured by means of the spring locking member generally indicated at 35 and shown in detail in Figs. and 6. The locking member consists of a strip of thin spring metal having a long leg 36 provided at one end with an oifset extension 37 formed with the hole 33 which fits the rod 3.

The locking member 35 is also formed at one end with a loop 39 from which extends an integral spring arm 40, provided with a projecting triangular cam plate 41. A slot 46, formed in the side wall 5 of the cover member, permits the protrusion of the triangular cam plate through it to project on the outside of the cover member and in a position to underlie the lever 34. Thus, when this cam plate 41 is protruding through the slot in the manner shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, it prevents inadvertent or other depression of the lever 34 and hence prevents the rotative movement of the binder rings 8 and 9 to open position. When it is desired to move the rings to open position, the slider 28 is moved toward the back of the holder, or to a point beyond that designated by the asterisk in Fig. 1, at which time the part 30 will have been extended behind the arm 4% of the locking member 35 and will have been brought into contact with the inclined cam edge 42 of plate 41, forcing the plate 41 inwardly or toward the inside of the cover member so that it then no longer underlies the lever 34-. The lever 34 can thereupon be depressed to move the binder rings 8 and 9, as shown in Fig. 10, to open position.

The holder is maintained with its cover in closed posi tion, by means of the lugs 47 stamped out of the top wall of the base member, and which lugs springily engage the protuberances or ribs 43 formed in the front wall 20 of the cover member. A lever, generally indicated at 49, and shown in detail in Fig. 4, is used to initiate the raising of the cover member. Said lever includes a finger-piece or button 50 from which an undulated tongue integrally extends. The tongue extends downwardly through a slot 51 formed in the top of the base member 1, and is then looped upwardly to provide the reverse loop 53 extending upwardly through a slot 54 formed in the top of the base member. The closed bottom 55 on the base member maintains the lever 40 in place in the manner shown in Fig. 4. When it is desired to open the cover member, the button 5%) is depressed and this will cause the loop portion 53 to rise upwardly through the slot 54 and exert an upward pressure on the lower edge of the front wall 2% of the cover Y member, causing a disengagement of the ribs 48 from the lugs 47, and causing the springs 6 and '7 to become efiective to raise the cover to the raised position shown in full lines in Fig. 9.

When the cover is swung upwardly to its raised position, as above described, its upward swing will be halted by the contact of a part 58 of the edge of the rear wall 13 with the forward edge of the raised part 14 of a leaf spring 57 formed out of the top of the base member as clearly shown in Fig. 8. The normal raised position of the cover will be seen in full lines in Fig. 9, and at that time the forward edge of the rear wall 13 of the cover will be in engagement with the forward edge of the part 14 of the spring 57, as clearly seen in Fig. 11. When it is desired to position the cover at a flatter angle, such as that shown in dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 9, to enable the backs of the sheets then raised and in contact with the elevated cover to be better inclined for writing upon them, the spring 57 is manually depressed. This can be done by exerting downward finger pressure at a point above the forward end of the spring and on the sheets which are resting on the base member, and when the spring 57 is thus depressed to free it from engagement with the edge of the rear wall 13, the torsional springs 6 and 7 will act to swing the cover to the inclined posi- 4 tion shown in the dot-and-dash lines. The swing of the cover member is halted at this position by the engagement of the parts '70 of the rear end wall 13 of the cover against lugs 17 and 13 stamped from the top portion of the base and extending vertically upwardly therefrom. This is clearly shown in Fig. 11.

From the foregoing, the operation of the improved list finder will be readily understood. The normal closed position of the device is shown in Fig. 1. To select the proper card or sheet for exposure it is merely necessary to move the slider 28 to the letter indicated on the face of the cover. This movement of the slider will position its hook portion 29 beneath the cards 19 to be elevated when the cover is raised. The button or fingerpiece Sit is thereupon depressed and this will disengage the ribs 48 from the lugs 47, permitting the springs 6 and 7 to swing the cover to the open position shown in full lines in Fig. 9. Should it be desired to Write upon the back of the exposed elevated sheet, the cover memher is inclined by pressure on the forward part 14 of the spring 57, causing the cover to swing to the position shown in dot-and-dash lines.

Whenever it is desired to remove the sheets or cards 19 from the binder rings 8 and 9, the slider is moved to the point designated by the asterisk, or to a point behind it, and this will retract the triangular cam 4-1, permitting the lever 34 to be manually depressed and the binder rings swung to their open position allowing the cards or sheets to be removed. When the slider 2b is moved below the asterisk, the cam 4 will be extended and will underlie the lever 34 and thus prevent pivotal movement of the lever, so that the rings 8 and 9 will always be held in their closed position while the slider is operative along the length of the line of calibrations provided on the face of the cover member from the asterisk to the end of the alphabet.

As an alternative for the ring-operating means above described, reference is to be had to the structure shown in Figs. 13 and 14. Therein a movable lever 60 is provided at its lower end with a lug 61 having an irregular aperture 62 which fits around a complementarily-shaped portion 63 formed on the rod 3. This arrangement is such that when the lever 60 is manually pivoted, it will rotate the rod 3 and move the rings 8 and 9 thereon to open or to closed position. The lever 60 is of thin flat stock and snugly fits against the inside surface of the side wall 4 of the cover member. it is locked in position by means of a lug 65 formed on its end and which has a snap engagement with a hole 66 formed in the side wall 4. An ear 64, formed out of the body of the lever 60, permits of finger engagement to move the lever as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 13 to thereby move the rod 3 and the binder rings thereon to open position.

An important and useful feature of the present device resides in the fact that whenever the cover member is closed down it will contact with the ends of the binder rings and thus automatically close the rings should they be inadvertently left open after inserting or removing the cards from them.

While i have herein described a single embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

l. in a list finder, a base member, a cover pivoted thereon, a pivot rod for the cover, binder rings on the pivot rod, 2. card stack mountedon the rings, means for rotatively moving the pivot rod, a lock for preventing rotative movement of the pivot rod, a slider on the cover for indicating cards to be lifted from the stack in company with the cover when the cover is raised, said lock being released by the slider when the slider is moved to a position to thereby permit rotative movement of the rod and rings to open position to permit disengagement of the cards from the rings.

2. In a list finder, a base member, lugs thereon, a cover pivotally mounted between the lugs, a pivot rod for said cover, binder rings secured on the pivot and rotative therewith, said rings each having a rim portion extending for more than one half of a circle, with an end of said rim portion normally maintained closely adjacent to the inner face of the cover to thereby constantly retain cards on the rings, and means on the pivot located externally of the cover for enabling the pivot to be rotatively moved to thereby move said ends of the rims away from the cover and permit cards to be removed from off the rims.

3. In a list finder, a base member, a cover pivotally mounted thereon, a pivot rod on which the cover is mounted, binder rings on the pivot rod, said rings being held in a closed condition when the pivot rod is maintained in one position and held in an open position when the pivot rod is located in another position, a lever mounted on the pivot rod on the outside of the cover for moving the rod and the rings thereon from one position to the other, and a lock for preventing inadvertent movement of the lever.

4. In a list finder, a base member, a cover pivoted thereon, a pivot rod for the cover, binder rings on the pivot rod, a card stack mounted on the rings, means for rotatively moving the pivot rod, a lock for preventing movement of the pivot rod, a slider for indicating cards to be lifted from the stack when the cover is raised, said lock being released by movement of the slider to a position to thereby permit rotative movement of the rod and cause the movement of the rings to open position to permit disengagement of the cards therefrom, said lock consisting of a cam member projecting in the path of movement of the rod-rotating means and moved out of the path of said means by the slider.

5. In a list finder, a base member, lugs extending upwardly therefrom, a cover member pivotally mounted between the lugs, a pivot rod extending through parts of the cover member and through the lugs, springs surrounding the pivot rod and biasing the cover member to open position, said pivot rod having a laterally-extended end located externally of the cover, spring locking means housed within the cover, said locking means having a projecting portion extending through an aperture in the cover and underlying said laterally-extended end and preventing manual rotative movement of the pivot rod in one direction, a slider on the cover, means carried by the slider for operation upon the projecting portion to thereby move such portion from its position below the laterallyextended end, whereby the rod on which said laterallyextended end is formed can be manually rotated, and binder rings carried by the rod and move to open position by manual movement of the laterally-extended end.

6. In a list finder, a base member, lugs extending therefrom, a cover member pivotally mounted between the lugs, a pivot rod extending through parts of the cover member and through the lugs, torsional springs surrounding the pivot rod and biasing the cover member to open position, said pivot rod having a lever secured on it and normally located Within the cover, and means on said lever interlocking with the cover and preventing rotative movement of the pivot rod in one direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,027,523 Buchan May 28, 1912 1,231,816 Vesterling July 3, 1917 1,835,206 Crouse Dec. 8, 1931 2,239,958 Gibson Apr. 29, 1941 2,524,209 Pollock Oct. 3, 1950 2,541,881 Menning et a1 Feb. 13, 1951 2,550,598 Pollock Apr. 24, 1951 2,573,534 Bauer Oct. 30, 1951 2,717,605 Lang Sept. 13, 1955 

